What to do with a 300 yo Walnut tree

rsvmark

Thanks all…. Have spoken to Andy at Prime and he is interested but will try fallen and felled too. The yield from this will depend on multiple factors and I got a really good schooling from Andy on all sorts of things- mineral lines, shakes, species and so on. Apparently it will take about 3 years to dry out so the prospect of guitar bodies really depends on what useable yield is there. Apparently the ‘best’ walnut is Turkish due to hot summers and cold winders but Andy gets a lot of business from guitar makers and cabinet makers so it will go to good homes if possible.

And there will be tons of free logs anyway…. But no, I ain’t doing that myself. I did a branch once and it took all day, a blunt chain, and was back braking work. I am not 300 but I ain’t a young fella either! 

Rabs

They have a kiln at Fallen & Felled..  Usually they leave it to dry for about 9-12 months and then kiln it down to about 8-10% moisture content.

Kittyfrisk

rsvmark said:

Thanks all…. Have spoken to Andy at Prime and he is interested but will try fallen and felled too. The yield from this will depend on multiple factors and I got a really good schooling from Andy on all sorts of things- mineral lines, shakes, species and so on. Apparently it will take about 3 years to dry out so the prospect of guitar bodies really depends on what useable yield is there. Apparently the ‘best’ walnut is Turkish due to hot summers and cold winders but Andy gets a lot of business from guitar makers and cabinet makers so it will go to good homes if possible.

And there will be tons of free logs anyway…. But no, I ain’t doing that myself. I did a branch once and it took all day, a blunt chain, and was back braking work. I am not 300 but I ain’t a young fella either! 

Good for you for even trying to do the right thing.
As for DIY cutting it up, I'm a damn sight older than you & it's doable. Although a blunt chain is an abomination to man & tree  
If I were nearer, then like @Roland I would offer my help, but sadly I'm waayy too far North 

My Gibson The Paul's are proof that despite recieved wisdom, walnut is a bloody good wood for solidbodies too   

Philly_Q

Sporky said:

So the bloke in the blue shirt was trapped under the tree for 300 years? 

Is it Catweazle?

Dominic

I loved Catweazle .........He is a guitarist called Guthrie now

ICBM

I have a classical guitar with beautiful walnut back and sides. I'm not really a classical player at all to put it mildly, but to me it's also wonderful sounding - it has a really great bell-like 'clang' (in a good way) that I haven't heard in other classicals, and probably suits me best as a steel-string player. It puzzles me a lot as to why it's not more often used for acoustics - it's characterful to look at, not particularly expensive, as I understand it quite stable, and sounds to me somewhere between rosewood and maple tonally.

Dominic

Have it ripped down to some long waney edge sections and use them to clad a garage or something like that
its a lovely wood when it matures

FastEddie

Someone with a mobile sawmill. It is a stunning wood and would be a shame to have to go up in smoke.

rsvmark

Fallen and felled also might be interested but we’ll see. Rudimentary calculations suggest the trunk is approx 1m diameter- even allowing for waste we might see planks of up to 75cm? Who knows- I will let the experts see what they can do with it. If I do get a few quid, it will pay for a bit of making good and maybe a few replacements (£250 for a 3m tree) but if I can, I will see if we can’t get a plank reserved for the fretboard builders! It needs a good home.

rsvmark

FastEddie said:

Someone with a mobile sawmill. It is a stunning wood and would be a shame to have to go up in smoke.

Only the bits they can’t use will go for fire wood. But I might see if I can get hold of a chipper- that’s got to be worth 4-5 tons wood chips for the garden. I agree it’s a lovely wood and judging by the responses here, it’s definitely suited to guitars so hoping I can get it to a good home.

 Andy from Prime told me he has 2 options when he gets to a fallen tree. His preferred way is getting as much onto the back of his wagon using a mobile crane and then it’s back to base and using a bandsaw. The blade is a mil or 2. A mobile saw mill is more akin to a chainsaw and so (at that scale) you can loose 10mm plus per cut….. more sawdust but less yield. What he does depends on access so we should be fine. 

When a tree goes over, a good sign is when the ‘plate’ or the base of the tree goes with it. It is an indication that the core is not rotten. Not 100% sure but one of the things he looks for. The alternative being a rotten/hollow truck snapping off leaving the base of the tree in situ.

WezV

This is the current set from Andy I am building with. 



I wouldn't put chips down in your garden.... did anything ever grow near the tree?   It can be toxic to other plants

rsvmark

WezV said:

I wouldn't put chips down in your garden.... did anything ever grow near the tree?   It can be toxic to other plants

Only the grass and assorted weeds in the turf. Assumed it was lack of light because as you can imagine the shade from the canopy in summer was huge. Will check on the toxicity of chips, thanks for the tip. 

Ps, that piece looks nice and knowing your builds, it will come out super!

Rabs

I have an update about this. I am actually going back to work for Fallen and Felled in the new year so if anyone is interested in any of this let me know and I should be able to sort some out. This was milled a few months back and apparently this tree was so big they had to send the trucks back the next day to collect it all. Of course its still drying and I dont know when they plan to stick it in the kiln but it will probably be available by summer.

Still such a shame to loose such an amazing tree but none of it will go to waste. All of the limbs were milled as well as the main logs.

https://i.imgur.com/MSoDt0Q.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DJ9d2MF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/PSRXN3G.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bdXxPRa.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XK20DWr.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Q9917K5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5Wn0Sk3.jpg

Kittyfrisk

Glad to hear that you have managed to do so much with the wood.
I'm always torn between feeling wow, what beautiful wood & uggg, fire goooood. 

rsvmark

@rabs thanks for putting up those shots. You are correct- it took 2 lorry loads to get it all away and I have several years of 3-6” diameter stuff for the log burner. I am delighted it looks like it’s going to go to a good home and I will show the Mrs and in particular the ace of spades pic!

guitargeek62

Lovely stuff indeed, I could be interested in a plank or two once it’s ready please

Rabs

guitargeek62 said:

Lovely stuff indeed, I could be interested in a plank or two once it’s ready please

Cool.. I will find out when its coming though and come back to this thread.

The do sell individual boards on their site too but its a limited selection..
Hardwood Boards from London | Fallen and Felled | English Timber

Rabs

Also they havent even got to the main log yet which is 1 meter in diameter which apparently is being milled in January...

Kalimna

I would be very interested in some consecutive planks if possible. Ive made a rocking chair from Scottish walnut before, and it would be lovely to make one from English timber. That and the spectacular acoustic back&sides it would make.
Either way, great to see an update on this.

Adam

Rabs

I also noticed that some of it is flamed.. Doesn't really get much better than that  

https://i.imgur.com/VpQqly0.jpg